Cherokee Phoenix reports, Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Feb. 10 to defend the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, warning that recent actions by the Trump administration threaten decades of economic progress in Indian Country.
Speaking before the committee, Hoskin emphasized that the Cherokee Nation’s participation in the 8(a) program is grounded in the political and legal relationship between tribal governments and the federal government, not race-based preferences. He rejected claims that the program is a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, describing such portrayals as misunderstandings of federal Indian law and congressional intent.
Hoskin highlighted the economic impact of Cherokee Nation businesses, noting that over the past decade, Cherokee Nation companies have contributed $364 million to tribal programs supporting health care, housing, language preservation, public safety, and infrastructure. Under tribal law, 37% of net income from Cherokee Nation-owned companies is returned to the tribe’s general fund to support these initiatives.
He also addressed criticism that tribal firms function as “pass-through” entities, stating that Cherokee Federal, the federal contracting arm of Cherokee Nation Businesses, self-performs nearly 80% of its contract work. Cherokee Federal currently employs about 4,400 workers across all 50 states and 20 countries and serves more than 60 federal agencies.
Hoskin warned that recent federal actions—including staffing reductions at the SBA, the removal of hundreds of firms from the 8(a) program, and reviews of contracts for alleged fraud—have already resulted in a significant decline in federal obligations to 8(a) vendors. He cited data showing a 14% drop in obligations from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025, compared with a 3% decline for small businesses overall.
Members of the committee echoed Hoskin’s remarks, emphasizing that Congress extended 8(a) eligibility to tribal entities in the 1980s based on treaty obligations and the federal trust responsibility, not racial classifications. Hoskin concluded by urging Congress to preserve the program as a critical tool for tribal economic self-sufficiency and self-determination, calling its protection a matter of honoring longstanding federal commitments to tribal nations.